The Origin of the Jack
by The Mushroom Fairy
Summary: How did Jacques end up with Geddoe's unit? Why was Geddoe so adamant about having him along? The answers to your burning questions await!


Thanks to all reviewers, in particular ChickLovinThesbian. Your critiques helped me to rewrite this chapter, and I hope it's improved. Thanks, everyone:)

* * *

Geddoe liked his team. Queen was brave and calm under pressure; Joker was sensible and sharp; Ace was high-strung but hard-working. They were good mercenaries. They were a good team. He didn't see why his chief had sent him the recent order to recruit a new member. His team was fine the way it was. But that was apparently not what his boss thought.

So that was what had brought him to Cadeia, the notorious prison located in the farthermost corner of Caleria. The scorching desert and the city therein were often referred to as "lawless land." Thanks to the overwhelming number of rogues and renegades willing to lie, cheat, steal, and murder to make some potch, Calerian officials had finally had to round the scoundrels up and put them _somewhere_.

"And here we are," the captain announced, stepping up to the guard at the massive gate.

"But _why_ are we here?" Ace demanded, feeling apprehensive by just standing near the building. He was used to avoiding that particular part of town just because Cadeia stood there; it went against every principle he had (though he didn't have many) to be trespassing on that forbidden ground.

"To find you a bunkmate," Geddoe said.

Ace decided the captain must be joking. At least he _hoped_ it was a joke.

"What's your business?" a gruff voice snarled at them as they approached the prison doors. The guard at the front gate was glaring at them.

Not seeming the slightest bit intimidated, Geddoe handed the man a scroll containing all necessary twelve signatures. "I'm here to collect," he said simply.

The guard reached out and took the document from Geddoe, his hand burned brown from the heat of the desert, his nails encrusted with sand. He unrolled the scroll and began studying the paper intensely, his mouth in constant motion like a cow chewing its cud. He turned his head to the side after a moment to spit, looking very much like one of the camels that were housed in a barn to the side of the building.

Just when Ace thought he was going to be sick, the guard turned his attention to Geddoe. His cracked lips broke out into a grin, revealing a mouth with fewer teeth than most men his age should have. The sweat rolled down his blistered face as he began laughing loudly. He rolled the scroll up again quickly and shoved it back at Geddoe, still laughing as he signaled for his fellow guardsmen to open the gate.

"Do we _have_ to do this?" Ace hissed, following the captain so closely he came very near to stepping on his heels.

"Yes," Geddoe said simply, walking at a steady pace down a long, dark hallway. His footsteps echoed loudly.

"A-are you _sure_ we have to do this?"

This time the captain didn't reply.

_It sounds just like the Great Hollow at night,_ Ace thought. _Too quiet. But at least it's cooler in here than outside._

They approached another door. The captain opened this one himself, then stepped inside. There was light in the chamber, however dim. The place reeked. Ace gasped, quickly raising his arm and covering his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his jacket.

Almost immediately they started coming. There were easily a thousand men, their clothes ragged and filthy, their bodies rank with the odor of unclean skin. So many eyes turned to gaze at the two mercenaries, eyes full of hatred and fury and even madness. They were like wild men, raised by wolves, living like animals. Luckily they were held back by the cold iron bars of their cages.

There were two stories of cells, a whole row on top of the other, stretching around the room in a circular fashion. There were more men in the prison than should have been able to fit. It was little wonder that they hadn't been able to bathe properly in quite some time. It was a marvel they could even eat or sleep under such poor living conditions.

Slowly a murmur began to rise up through the crowd. It started on the bottom floor, among those who were closest to the door that the captain and Ace had just entered through, and began rising to the top. The hum grew louder but remained controlled, until what might have been a stark raving madman began screaming as though he were on fire. Then all hell broke loose.

The wails and shouts of the prisoners became a deafening roar unlike anything Ace had ever heard before. He moved his hands to cover his ears, forced suddenly to breathe in the overpowering stench of the criminals. Their gazes were just as bad as their smells. The way they looked at him made Ace feel as though all their fury and all their hatred were turned against him. They glared and growled and gnashed their teeth; they screamed and shouted threats that they would not hesitate to carry out if given even the slightest opportunity. The mad ones tore at their hair and clothes, tears streaming down their agonized faces in suffering. Ace's eyes were wide with horror, until he felt the sour sliminess of saliva hit his cheek just below his left eye. They were spitting at him.

Suddenly Ace realized that the captain was halfway down the hall already, and he hurried to catch up, even as dozens of guards rushed forward with clubs to beat the wild men back farther into the recesses of their small, cramped cages. The sounds of their weapons beating against the bars were sharp and painful, but still better than the screams of the prisoners.

The captain had shown his charter to another man at the far end of the hall. This time the guard kept the paper, tucking it into a thin folder and jerking his head to inform Geddoe that he was to follow. In turn the captain beckoned to Ace.

The room had become as silent as it had been when he had entered, but Ace did not find comfort in that. He wasn't so sure he wanted to see what any more of this prison was like. There didn't seem to be any choice, however, as the guards unlocked the door to the next area. Two of them accompanied Geddoe and Ace through a long, ascending, nearly pitch-black hall to yet another door. This one was unlocked as well, and at last the stench of the prisoners' bodies faded and the world returned to near-normalcy.

They were in an office now, lavishly furnished and absolutely spotless, like any room back at headquarters. It even actually had windows that proved that they had not sunk down into the earth and reached the pits of hell. The sun was shining brightly in the clear afternoon sky, and a cool breeze rushed in to greet them. Ace gratefully walked to the window, hanging his head outside and hungrily taking in as much clean air as his lungs would hold.

"Hello, Warden Backus," Geddoe said, reaching out to shake the hand of the man standing behind the desk.

"Captain Geddoe." The man nodded cordially, briskly shaking the captain's proffered hand. "Have a seat. This will take a moment."

"I understand," the captain returned politely, taking one of two seats across the desk from the prison warden.

Ace sighed heavily, turning his back to the window and letting the breeze caress through his hair. He noticed that Geddoe seemed perfectly calm and at ease, despite the horror of recent events. Perhaps it was because of the organization and efficiency of the prison guard regime. Ace had to wonder at that. How had the soldiers been able to immediately calm a raging madhouse? Was there something to that "brainwashing" rumor he'd heard, after all?

Feeling a pair of eyes upon him, Ace turned his head slowly to the right. In the corner of the room sat a boy, staring back at him curiously. His hair was dirty blonde, and his clothes looked dusty and ragged. There was a smudge of dirt across his jaw (or was it a bruise?), and he had the overall appearance of one who had just walked in from one of Caleria's frequent sandstorms.

Ace scowled at the boy. He wanted to snap at him about minding his manners. Hadn't he been raised to respect his elders? Didn't he realize how rude it was to stare at someone like that? Especially a stranger? But he thought he ought to keep his mouth shut, as the warden was engrossed in something that seemed terribly important and it would probably be a very bad idea to interrupt. So instead of reprimanding the undisciplined brat in the corner, he walked over to the desk, sitting down next to the captain, across from the warden. Other than the three of them and the strange boy, there were two guards posted by the door, and another two standing behind the warden's chair--all of them armed.

Geddoe watched silently as the warden signed at least a dozen documents, keeping them sorted into three separate stacks. He would occasionally hand a page to the captain, who would read over its contents as carefully and precisely as any man would examine a property deed, his eye in constant motion. Ace wanted to see what the captain was reading, but didn't want to be rude by trying to steal a peek. Geddoe would nod to show his approval, waiting for the warden to pass him a quill so he could add his signature in all the appropriate locations. It wasn't until then that Ace realized that the captain was left-handed. He had never seen him write before.

At last the warden stamped his seal of endorsement on the bottom of three different pages, adding one to the top of each pile of papers. "This one," he said, neatly stacking a pile, "stays with me." He slipped the certificates into a folder and moved on to the next pile. "This packet needs to be turned in to your headquarters." He reached across the desk and handed the pile of documents to Ace, who paused before accepting them, not having expected a request. "And this set," the warden continued, gingerly taking the final stack into his hand as he stood, "goes with you." He handed the papers over to Geddoe but seemed almost reluctant to part with them.

The captain rose with Backus, taking hold of the documents. "I understand my responsibilities," Geddoe said, quietly but insistently, sensing the warden's hesitation.

"Then all I can say is... good luck." Releasing his hold on the papers, the warden backed off. "The guards will escort you outside. Give us five minutes, then he's all yours."

Ace looked to the captain as he stood with him, feeling a bit frustrated at being left out of whatever deal had just been made. He wanted to know what was going on, and this time he had to ask. "_What's_ all ours?"

"_He_ is," Geddoe replied. He turned to look at the young man seated in the corner. It was then that Ace realized the boy's wrists were tightly bound by rope, the kind used on slaves and prisoners.


End file.
